Sorters of various designs for use with grapes, berries, nuts, seeds and similar granular items are well known in the art. Past methodologies for sorting such produce have utilized reciprocating screens of increasing mesh size, as seen in U.S. Patent Publication Number 20070267330 (Mukai); parallel rollers having predetermined gap sizing, as disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication Number 20090057208 (Pellenc); pressurized air flow, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,228,977 (Rogers); water immersion, as seen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,023,898 (Martin); and the rebound characteristics of the product to be sorted as the product is permitted to pass through a series of rebound plates, as discussed in French Patent Number FR2796249A1 (LaFlaquiere). The teachings of the above cited patents are incorporated herein by reference.
A major advance in the technology of sorting various products or produce was the use of imaging devices while the product or produce to be sorted was passing through an inspection zone, and along an arcuately shaped path. This methodology can be seen in U.S. Patent Publication Number 201101212684 A1 (Pellenc), and wherein the product is moved along a conveyor and in a stream, which is then isolated into a single layer. This single layer of product is then passed through an inspection zone where an imaging analysis is performed, and desired and undesired product are then later separated by way of a downstream ejector system. The teachings of this above cited patent publication is also incorporated herein by reference.
While the above cited prior art has provided some measure of success in various industry segments, a major impediment to the sorting of produce such as grapes or other granular items has been the relative size of the machine (the “footprint”), and the simultaneous separation of a liquid phase product component from a solid phase product, component during the sorting process. For example, in U.S. Patent Publication Number 2011 0112684 (Pellenc), the product is moved at a given speed through a substantially horizontally oriented inspection area of the sorting device. While this arrangement works with some degree of success and would appear satisfactory at first analysis, this physical arrangement requires an extension of the imaging area to permit a thorough visual inspection and analysis of the product stream. This particular arrangement ultimately translates into a larger footprint for the resulting sorting device. Additionally, it will be noted that this same horizontal arrangement fails to segregate a liquid phase product component from a solid phase product component, whether for capture or subsequent discard.
The present invention resolves the many issues associated with the foot print size of a resulting sorter, and those problems associated with the segregation or separation of a liquid phase product component from a solid phase product component. The present invention also provides a novel means for producing a produce stream flow which is substantially vertical, rather than horizontal, when the produce stream moves through an imaging area or inspection zone, thus reducing the overall horizontal length of the resulting sorting apparatus. This type of an arrangement permits the resulting sorting apparatus, as a whole unit, to be rendered moveable, and thus enables the apparatus to be utilized at remote locations such as in harvesting areas and the like. This, of course, further reduces the costs associated with harvesting and sorting a given source of produce.
In the presently disclosed invention, the sorting apparatus as described, hereinafter, effectively segregates or separates a liquid phase product component from a solid phase product component at a location in the sorting apparatus where vertical movement of the product or produce is first introduced. This particularly novel arrangement permits the effective capture of substantially all the liquid phase product component, and further reduces or eliminates the possibility that the liquid phase product component may interfere with the downstream imaging and visual analysis of the solid phase product component as it moves substantially vertically downwardly through an inspection zone or station.
A sorting apparatus which avoids the many shortcomings associated with prior art devices utilized heretofore is the subject matter of the present patent application.